In Paris, she finds the young actress Oulaya Amamra, whose strength and grace have guided her from the apartment she shares with her mother to the movie sets where she immerses herself in every character she plays.
Harley enters into photographer Momo Okabe's technicolor vision of Tokyo next and considers the way in which we create our identities, as she meets the subjects of Momo’s photobooks whose transforming bodies were first documented at the bars and backstreets Harley now encounters here.
The poet Zariya Allen then takes her on a journey of youthful self-expression and teenage desire, to the highways and beaches of Los Angeles whose rhythms guide her words.
In Soweto, South Africa, dancer Manthe Ribane shares her powerful story of a young woman on the journey of finding herself, alongside her brother and sister, as she is driven to create an echo of positivity with every step and offer hope to a community that has given shape to her dreams.
And finally, Harley experiences Berlin through the extraordinary perspective of artist Christine Sun Kim, uncovering the deep and profound way in which our senses work together to make meaning of the world.
What is at the essence of each of us? The skin we live in or the complexities hidden just underneath?
Oulaya Amamra
Whether she’s at home with her family or at the gym training for her next role, Oulaya encapsulates the complexity of femininity: equal parts delicate and strong. She immerses herself in every role she plays, each one imbued with memories and mementos of her own life.
My mother is very, very strong. I am the daughter of armor.
You have to inhabit the characters, and to do that you create for them a past, a memory, an imagination. All of which comes from us
Momo Okabe
We meet photographer Momo in Tokyo on the day of her wedding, later encountering the city and its inhabitants amongst Shinjuku’s quiet gay scene – some of whom are former subjects from her photobooks – as she looks ahead in her continued quest to better understand the skin we live in.
If there is truth or genuine feeling, I think anything can be beautiful.
I don’t think much about colors. I just see it and expose it naturally as it comes out.
I was 24 when I met my first muse. Her name was Kaori and she was my lover. When I took a picture of her everything came out so beautifully.”
Zariya Allen
Zariya’s poems are provocative musings on love, lust and longing: little insights into the mind of a young woman on the cusp of adulthood as she continues to figure out her place in the world.
If women aren’t writing, if women aren’t telling their stories, then they go untold or they get misconstrued.
His love is like a fire, it could keep me warm or burn me alive. I’m not your baby girl. I will swallow you whole.
Manthe Ribane
Manthe’s is a story of constant movement. As a dancer and as a young woman in South Africa driven with ambition and ideas, she works closely with her siblings to create performances that will honor the memory of their parents and inspire the children of their neighborhood to keep going forward.
The most important thing is to move, to move forward, take a step really move forward.
This place recharged me so much because of the diversity and passion that people have here. That’s the best energy you need to keep going.
Our parents taught us one thing: don’t lose faith in whatever you want to do.
Christine Sun Kim
Artist Christine Sun Kim’s world is powered by a depth and point of view that is unlike anyone else’s. Born deaf, Christine creates work that asks viewers to think about sound itself not simply as something we physically hear, but as an idea.
Growing up, the languages I had access to – English, American Sign Language – were languages I could never fully express myself in until I found art.
When you speak you might have a fixed expression but your intonation and the tone of your voice inflects and it kind of matches the way you feel. I have that with facial expressions. It becomes my tone, my pitch, my emotions.
Sound can really mean a lot things. It can be air vibrations, it can be a sensation you experience physically, it could even be a concept or an idea.
Episode 2
Featured Stories
A digital journey to make the invisible, visible. Inspired by CHANEL Nº5 L’Eau.
Explore the physical and virtual elements of scent by deconstructing its unseen elements, combining the scientific yet emotive components of fragrance in a digital space.
Each individual journey is unique to the user through the interactions and tasks of each space,
creating a visual and sonic world of discovery.
Please note this project contains flashing images.
Read More